Appendix D Notice of Preparation

Appendix D Notice of Preparation LOS ANGELES COUNTY METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (Metro) NOTICE OF INTENT TO PREPARE AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (EIS)/ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT (EIR) TO: AGENCIES, ORGANIZATIONS & INTERESTED PARTIES. SUBJECT: NOTICE OF INTENT (NOI)/NOTICE OF PREPARATION (NOP) OF AN EIS/EIR PROJECT TITLE: REGIONAL CONNECTOR TRANSIT CORRIDOR PROJECT PROJECT LOCATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING: The proposed light rail transit (LRT) project lies entirely within the City of Los Angeles and is generally bounded by US Highway 101 on the north, 7th and 9th Streets on the south, Alameda Street on the east, and State Route 110 on the west. The length of the proposed light rail project would be just under two miles. It would have up to four stations plus ancillary facilities including power substations. The project area includes the largest regional employment center of Los Angeles, and is densely developed with multi-family residences, industrial and public lands, commercial and retail establishments, government office buildings, and private high-rise office towers. The proposed Regional Connector would provide a direct link connecting several light rail lines in operation or in construction, including the Metro Gold Line to Pasadena, the Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension, the Metro Blue Line, and the Metro Expo Line. The proposed project would create a connection through downtown Los Angeles that would link the Metro Blue and Expo Lines termini at 7th Street/Metro Center Station (7th Street and Flower Street) to the Metro Gold 1 Line (Pasadena and Eastside) at the Little Tokyo/Arts District Station at 1st Street and Alameda Street. This connection would provide through service between the Metro Blue Line to Long Beach, the Metro Gold Line to Pasadena and East Los Angeles, and the Metro Expo Line to Culver City. With the implementation of the Regional Connector, these four lines would share tracks and stations in downtown Los Angeles. The various alternatives to be considered for the Regional Connector generally traverse Flower Street north from 7th Street, 2nd Street between Figueroa and Alameda, Main and Los Angeles Streets between Temple Street and 2nd Street, Temple Street between City Hall and Alameda Street, and Alameda Street between US Highway 101 and 2nd Street. PROJECT INTITIATION: The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority (LACMTA or Metro) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) for the Regional Connector Transit Corridor pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 139 and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Metro is serving as the local lead agency for purposes of CEQA environmental clearance, and FTA is serving as the federal lead agency for purposes of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental clearance. This notice shall alert interested parties to the preparation of the EIS/EIR, describe the alternatives under consideration, invite public participation in the EIS/EIR process, and announce the public scoping meetings. FTA and Metro will invite interested Federal, State, tribal, regional and local government agencies to be participating agencies under the provisions of Section 6002 of SAFETEA-LU. PURPOSE AND NEED FOR THE PROJECT: The purpose of this project is to improve the region’s public transit service and mobility. The overall goal of the project is to improve mobility 2 within the corridor by connecting to the light rail service of the Metro Gold Line to Pasadena, the Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension, the Metro Blue Line, and the Metro Expo Line. This link would serve communities across the region, allowing greater accessibility while serving population and employment growth in downtown Los Angeles. Mobility issues throughout the region and the identified need to join the unconnected segments of the light rail system have been documented in several past studies, including the Pasadena – Los Angeles Light Rail Transit Project Environmental Impact Report (1993), the Blue Line Connection Preliminary Planning Study (1993), and the Regional Light Rail Connector Study (2004). Additional considerations supporting the need for the Regional Connector Transit Corridor project include: increased travel times and station overcrowding occurring due to multiple transfers required to traverse the project area; a project area that has many transit dependent residents; poor system connectivity that results in reduced system schedule reliability as current system expansions are completed; and investments within the project area could improve system- wide operations in regards to travel times and safety issues. ALTERNATIVES: The Regional Connector Transit Corridor Final Alternatives Analysis Report (2009) prepared by FTA and Metro identified four alternatives for further consideration in the EIS/EIR. The attached figures depict the No-Build, TSM, and two build alternatives proposed for further consideration. The four alternatives include: No-Build Alternative: The No-Build Alternative would maintain existing transit service through the year 2030. No new transportation infrastructure would be built within the project area aside from projects currently under construction. Transit service under the No-Build Alternative would be focused on the preservation of existing services and projects. By the 3 projection year of 2030, some bus service would have been reorganized and expanded to provide connections with the new rail lines; however, the transit network within the project area would largely be the same as it is now. Transportation System Management (TSM) Alternative: The TSM Alternative would include the provisions of the No-Build Alternative and add two shuttle bus routes from 7th Street/Metro Center station to Union Station, providing a link between the region’s unconnected LRT services. One route would run along Grand Avenue and 1st Street, and one along Figueroa, Flower, 2nd, and 3rd Streets. The shuttle buses would use existing bus-only lanes, where available, and would be fitted with transit-priority signalization devices similar to those used on Metro Rapid. Stops would be located every few blocks so as to provide full coverage of the area. Each shuttle route would be one and one-half to two miles in length. At-Grade Emphasis LRT Alternative: This alternative would extend from the underground 7th Street/Metro Center Station, head north under Flower Street, surface to at-grade north of 5th Street, cross 3rd Street, enter Bunker Hill, and turn northeast through a new entrance to the existing 2nd Street tunnel. The alignment would continue along 2nd Street where it would split into an at-grade couplet configuration on Main and Los Angeles Streets (one track on each roadway) to Temple Street. Then it would head east on Temple Street, realign into a dual track configuration east of Los Angeles Street, and join the Metro Gold Line just north of the Little Tokyo/Arts District Station on Alameda Street. Due to the high volume of trains that would traverse the Regional Connector, an automobile underpass and pedestrian overpass would be constructed at the intersection of Temple and Alameda Streets to eliminate pedestrian-train and automobile-train conflicts. 4 There are two options for the configuration on Flower Street. For Option A, trains would transition to underground tracks after crossing 3rd Street and continue to a new underground station just south of 5th Street, then proceed to the 7th Street/Metro Center Station and arrive at the existing Metro Blue Line platform. For Option B, trains would arrive at an at-grade station after crossing 3rd Street, then transition to underground tracks near 4th Street to reach the existing Metro Blue Line platform at 7th Street/Metro Center station. In total, the At-Grade Emphasis LRT Alternative would add 1.8 miles of new double track to the light rail system. In addition to the Option A and Option B Station configurations, other station locations would include a station adjacent to Bunker Hill, south of 2nd Street and Hope Street, and a split station using Main and Los Angeles Streets between 1st and Temple Streets. Underground Emphasis LRT Alternative: From the 7th Street/Metro Center Station, this alternative would extend north along Flower Street with a new underground station north of 5th Street. At 2nd Street, the underground tunnel would extend east with new underground stations to provide access to Bunker Hill and to the area between Los Angeles Street and Broadway. The tunnel would emerge to at-grade connections just southwest of the intersection of 1st and Alameda Streets. At 1st and Alameda Streets, a new underpass would carry car and truck traffic along Alameda Street below the rail junction, and a new overhead pedestrian bridge structure would eliminate most conflicts between pedestrians and trains. This alternative would have a single at-grade crossing at the intersection of 1st and Alameda Streets. The rest of the route would be underground. The length of this proposed route would be 1.6 miles. PROBABLE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS: The purpose of this EIS/EIR process is to study, in a public setting, the effects of the proposed project and its alternatives on the physical, 5 human, and natural environment. The FTA and Metro will evaluate all significant environmental, social, and economic impacts of the construction and operation of the proposed project. Impact areas to be addressed include: transportation, land use, zoning and economic development,

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